A good description of Con-Med ...

A Doctor Confesses All, November 22, 2003
Reviewer: Stephen Pletko (London, Ontario, Canada) - See all my
reviews
   
+++++

The idea behind this book can be ascertained from its title. The word
"confession" means to admit. What Dr. Robert Mendelsohn (1926 to 1988)
does is to admit truths about what he calls the "Church of Modern
Medicine." A "heretic" is a person who professes to heresy. A heresy
is any opinion opposed to established doctrines.

Thus, Mendelsohn in his book tells us truths and his opinions (based
on his excellent qualifications) regarding orthodox medicine. His
opinions are angry ones. (I'd be angry too if I spent my entire life
in orthodox medicine only to discover that it is not what it claims to
be.) Like anyone who is angry, the author occasionally goes off on
tangents but overall he sticks to the main premise of the book.

What is the premise of this book? Mendelsohn tells us this immediately
in the book's opening section called the "Non Credo." He states, "I do
not believe in modern medicine. I am a medical heretic. My aim of this
book is to persuade you to become a heretic, too." (Notice, that
contrary to popular belief, the premise of this book is not to tell
you to stop seeing your doctor.)

Each chapter (there are nine) of this book has many truths. These
truths are not out-of-date and will probably remain relevant into the
far future. Here are just three examples:

1) "Every drug stresses and hurts your body in some way."
2) "A healthy society is characterized by strong, positive family
relationships and subsequent minimal need of doctors."
3) "Doctors are not trained to attack the core of any problem, merely
to suppress symptoms."

Sometimes, the author juxtaposes two truths to make a point. My
favorite: "All their [that is, doctors'] intentions may be good, but
we all know what the road to Hell is paved with."

What I really noticed about this book is the author's strong opinions.
Here, again, are three examples:

1) "Doctors in general should be treated with the same degree of trust
as used-car salesmen."
2) "When I meet a doctor, I generally figure I'm meeting a person who
is narrow-minded, prejudiced, and fairly incapable of reasoning and
deliberation."
3) "Get used to the idea right away that no single system can or
should claim to have an exclusive fix on the dynamics of health."

There is even discussion about non-drug medicine. Mendelsohn states,
"In the Church of Modern Medicine, the doctor who treats without drugs
is regarded as a heretic because he or she appears to have rejected
the sacrament of medication." Today, orthodox medicine calls such
people "quacks." One of the people they call a quack, the author
mentions, is Dr. Linus Pauling because he wanted to treat without
drugs. The late Linus Pauling was a two-time Nobel Prize winner.
Question: What gives orthodox medicine the right to call such a
brilliant person a quack? His credentials prove otherwise.

The book's last section is called, "Epilog: In search of the New
Doctor." It is an interesting section where Mendelsohn gives his
vision of the doctor of the future. This vision has yet to be achieved
and my guess is, it will never be achieved.

The only problem I had with this book is the lack of footnotes with
respect to specific numbers and statistics. When statistics are given,
you have to give credit to their source. However, Mendelsohn does
supply many references.

Another good book on this subject that is less opinionated is "The
Medical Mafia" (1995) by Dr. Guylaine Lanctot. I think this title is a
good indicator of its contents.

In conclusion, Dr. Robert Mendelsohn's book does a good job in
exposing the truths behind orthodox medicine. These truths are what
you and your family should know for their own protection. I strongly
recommend this book if you want to become aware of these truths.

**** 1/2